Wednesday, December 26, 2012

In the Afterglow—Or is it Aftermath?

The frenzy of Christmas is now past—thankfully—but hopefully
the peace of Christmas still lingers on at your home. That alone is worth the
price of Christmas, in my estimation.

It has been interesting, this past year, to go through all
the papers belonging to our various relatives, and peer into the lives of those
I’ve never met—but am somehow related to. For the most part, every piece of
information, each letter, all the photos, seemed to fall nicely into place in
an organized fashion as I posted them here.

Some items, however, defied categorization. Some of these
pieces of paper didn’t really add to the details of a life’s story, as far as
the “vital” facts were concerned. Some of these wisps of trivia I call ephemera—they
don’t tell much about the who-what-where-when-why, but they do reveal glimpses
into what made up each person’s daily routine.

In sifting through the treasures and trash of what was left
behind by Agnes Tully Stevens, I found some tokens of what was important to
Agnes’ sister Lily. As I’ve already mentioned in prior posts, Lily had a
concern for spiritual matters, and—perhaps following in the path already laid
out by her mother, Catherine Malloy Tully—had several connections with
church-related organizations.

Some of those pieces, while saved—first by Lily, then by her
sister Agnes after her passing—didn’t seem to fit into any category of material
I was trying to present on these family members. Even though I did squeeze it in toward the tail end of the series on our Tully family, today’s card is an example of
that. It seems fitting to revisit it now during the Christmas season, though, mostly
because of the artwork. Moving beyond the holiday angst, this card reminds me once again
to center on the peace of the Person behind the season.

I hope, in these few days before the New Year, you will find
a peaceful haven to regain your own sense of balance, too.

2 comments:

Aftermath..at least that is what my body says:) That is a beautiful enrollment card...I used to get cards from the cradle roll when the girls were little..the artwork was stunning.Yes I hope a few days of rest will give me some peace and balance..you too! :)

I'm with you, Far Side...it seems more like aftermath here, too--mostly because life goes on and brings lots of stuff that needs immediate attention, no matter what the calendar says. Peace and balance sound like my favorite gifts right now. Something money can't buy...

About Me

It is my contention that, after a lifetime, one of the greatest needs people have is to be remembered. They want to know: have I made a difference?
I write because I can't keep for myself the gifts others have entrusted to me. Through what I've already been given--though not forgetting those to whom I must pass this along--from family I receive my heritage; through family I leave a legacy. With family I weave a tapestry. These are my strands.